From Salon....
The gold medalist is a teenager of deep faith and gratitude -- and that can be a little unnerving
U.S. gymnast Gabrielle Douglas displays her gold medal (Credit: AP/Julie Jacobson)
Gabby
Douglas is now officially a star. When she won the individual gold
medal in women’s gymnastics in London Thursday, the breakout darling of
the 2012 games, she immediately found herself a celebrity worthy of a cereal box. If her performance in the women’s individual all-around didn’t blow your mind,
you cannot possibly have been paying attention. Yet after her victory,
one of the first responses that truly resonated for me was the from a
colleague who noted, “I would like her more if she were not so, so, so
into Jesus.” Which raises the question – what is Jesus going to do now
for Gabby Douglas’ career?
Douglas isn’t exactly the only outspoken Christian in America – or even the only high profile Christian athlete. So jam-packed is this year’s roster of them that Douglas didn’t even make the cut for the Christian Post’s “10 Christian Athletes to Watch.” But her newly-minted status as a champion and her unguarded outspokenness about her faith are going to give her a new platform from which to preach. After her win Thursday, Douglas said, “I give all the glory to God. It’s kind of a win-win situation. The glory goes up to him and the blessings fall down on me.”
She’s a 16-year-old with both deep faith and profound gratitude, a girl who yesterday tweeted from the Psalms to her followers, “Let all that I am praise the LORD; may I never forget the good things he does for me” and Friday sent out a retweet from the Faith in God feed. And that clearly authentic image of a hard-working girl with strong values makes her a natural icon to her fellow Christians — just as it makes the somewhat less faithful uncomfortable.
Douglas isn’t exactly the only outspoken Christian in America – or even the only high profile Christian athlete. So jam-packed is this year’s roster of them that Douglas didn’t even make the cut for the Christian Post’s “10 Christian Athletes to Watch.” But her newly-minted status as a champion and her unguarded outspokenness about her faith are going to give her a new platform from which to preach. After her win Thursday, Douglas said, “I give all the glory to God. It’s kind of a win-win situation. The glory goes up to him and the blessings fall down on me.”
She’s a 16-year-old with both deep faith and profound gratitude, a girl who yesterday tweeted from the Psalms to her followers, “Let all that I am praise the LORD; may I never forget the good things he does for me” and Friday sent out a retweet from the Faith in God feed. And that clearly authentic image of a hard-working girl with strong values makes her a natural icon to her fellow Christians — just as it makes the somewhat less faithful uncomfortable.
